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Naked toes
Aug. 17th, 2015 12:08 pmI took off my chipped toenail polish last night, but didn't get around to replacing it. I was walking to work this morning, and noticed how odd my toes looked to my eyes in sandals with no polish. And then, since I was looking at my feet, I started looking at other women's feet. And no one who was wearing sandals wasn't wearing nail polish.
Well, not no one. But I started keeping a rough tally. Of all the visible toenails I saw on 23rd St and Park Avenue, less than 10% had no polish. (None were male.) A significant proportion of the unpolished bare toes were clad in Birkenstock-style sandals.
I...had not actually realized that this is a social convention. But it is. I like toenail polish because it's pretty and I like getting to wear different colors all summer and so rarely go without it during sandal months. But now that I think of it, it does seem odd to see women's toes that do not have polish. Not necessarily bad or unkempt or anything, but odd. Has it always been this way? I don't remember my mom telling me anything when I was growing up about making sure I'd painted my toes before putting on sandals, but her nails peel when she uses too much polish so maybe that was just something she herself didn't do. Or is it because of the rise of professional pedicures, or because of increased casual offices, or what? It's weird--I would have pegged things like makeup or earrings as a bigger social convention for being properly dressed, but way more women seem to be wearing toenail polish than makeup or earrings (or fingernail polish). And when I think of it, I feel more incompletely dressed with bare toenails than I do without either makeup or jewelry.
And the weirdest part is that I never really noticed this before. Oh culture. You're so weird.
Well, not no one. But I started keeping a rough tally. Of all the visible toenails I saw on 23rd St and Park Avenue, less than 10% had no polish. (None were male.) A significant proportion of the unpolished bare toes were clad in Birkenstock-style sandals.
I...had not actually realized that this is a social convention. But it is. I like toenail polish because it's pretty and I like getting to wear different colors all summer and so rarely go without it during sandal months. But now that I think of it, it does seem odd to see women's toes that do not have polish. Not necessarily bad or unkempt or anything, but odd. Has it always been this way? I don't remember my mom telling me anything when I was growing up about making sure I'd painted my toes before putting on sandals, but her nails peel when she uses too much polish so maybe that was just something she herself didn't do. Or is it because of the rise of professional pedicures, or because of increased casual offices, or what? It's weird--I would have pegged things like makeup or earrings as a bigger social convention for being properly dressed, but way more women seem to be wearing toenail polish than makeup or earrings (or fingernail polish). And when I think of it, I feel more incompletely dressed with bare toenails than I do without either makeup or jewelry.
And the weirdest part is that I never really noticed this before. Oh culture. You're so weird.
